Thursday, April 1, 2010

THETA I

When I sit down to play the piano my subconscious takes over. It has to. There is no way you could consciously think, put this finger here and that finger there and that finger there with this hand. Now with your other hand put that finger there and that finger there and hold them there for half a beat with this hand and two full beats with that hand. Now after the first half beat put this finger here and that finger there and that finger there….

Like the saying goes you just do it.

You can’t let your conscious come into play. When you consciously try to think about what you are doing you start making mistakes. Your fingers just won’t go where they are supposed to. Your conscious mind is in no way capable of playing the piano.

I have been able to play the piano since I was a child. I took no lessons. I was given no instruction. So why was I able to play the piano?

You hear the phrase, “Playing by ear.” But what causes you to play by ear?

At that young point in my life I had no musical experience. I couldn’t even tell you what the notes on the piano were. But yet I could hear a song in my head, sit down at the piano and my fingers would find the correct keys to play the song I was hearing in my head.

I didn’t know how my fingers were doing that. How did I know that this key and this key and this key were the right ones to play with this hand? And how did I know that key and that key were the correct ones to play with that hand?

I’ve already answered part of the question. I was playing the piano with my subconscious mind.

That being said, if I had never taken any kind of musical lessons in my life then how did I, even subconsciously, play the piano?